CHARLOTTE — Minicamps are over around the NFL, and we all wait for the start of training camp. (Rookies report July 21 and vets on July 22.)

That brings us to a tradition unlike any other — list season.

To fill the gap between now and camps opening — when we'll learn about all the guys in the best shape of their lives — the NFL's content machine continues to grind, and we'll take a look at some of the power rankings, polls, and engagement-farming here.

ESPN recently put together a pretty interesting look at a complete 53-man roster from the last 25 years. Since the Panthers are entering their 31st season, that means there was a good chance at representation.

And the Panthers had four of their former players make it, though not necessarily the four you might imagine.

Analysts Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder, in a very analytical and stats-driven and thorough look, placed four former Panthers on the 53-man roster (as well as a 16-man practice squad and an international player).

Included on the 53-man roster were linebacker Luke Kuechly, pass-rushers Julius Peppers and Jared Allen, and running back Christian McCaffrey.

Peppers and Kuechly were the no-brainers on the list.

Peppers was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer, in celebration of a career that saw him reach fourth on the league's all-time sack list with 159.5, and earn All-Decade honors twice.

Kuechly was equally obvious, one of five inside linebackers listed along with Ray Lewis, Bobby Wagner, Brian Urlacher, and LaVonte David. Lewis and Urlacher are already in the Hall, Wagner and David are still playing, and Kuechly will be an automatic finalist for the Hall this year after getting to the final seven in voting in his first year of eligibility.

In his eight seasons, he was named All-Pro seven times (87.5 percent). The year he didn't make it, his first, he was defensive rookie of the year. The only players to make All-Pro at a higher percentage of their careers were Barry Sanders (10-of-10, 100 percent) and Jim Brown (8-of-9, 88.9 percent). That's the list. Kuechly is immediately ahead of Reggie White (13-of-15, 86.7) and Anthony Munoz (11-of-13, 84.6) on that list.

(Don't even get me started on Luke not being in the Hall of Fame already.)

Allen, who talked about his final season with the Panthers being when he realized football was fun again, only had 2.0 of his 136.0 sacks here. But he was a dominant pass-rush threat throughout his career, and was a valuable contributor here during a Super Bowl run before he rode off into the sunset.

McCaffrey, who played his first five years here before he was traded to the 49ers, is mentioned as "the best receiving back of the past 25 years."

He's one of the three backs listed, along with Priest Holmes and Derrick Henry, with Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson pegged as the practice squad running back.

This is where we note that 25 years is a long time, and when Hall of Famers only make their practice squad, it shows you how elite this list is.

But there is some weirdness.

There were six receivers listed on the full roster — Randy Moss, Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, and current Vikings star Justin Jefferson. Moss, Johnson, Owens, and Harrison are already in the Hall of Fame.

So is ESPN's practice squader Andre Johnson, but their other practice squad entry and eighth receiver listed is Antonio Brown.

Frankly, that's silly, considering you heard all those names and not Steve Smith's.

Smith's 14,731 receiving yards are the most among those named receivers, and eighth in the history of the NFL. It's hard to imagine a way Brown would be considered better (he was a five-time All-Pro to Smith's four and has 83 touchdowns to Smith's 81, but the statistical gulf is wide, as Brown has 12,291 yards, or about two season's worth less than Smith.

As we've argued consistently during Smith's own Hall of Fame candidacy (he was a finalist for the first time last year), he was able to do all that without playing with a Hall of Fame quarterback, while running routes for run-first teams, and being the sole focus of opposing defenses.

And while Greg Olsen had an exceptional career here (the first tight end in league history to top 1,000 yards three seasons in a row), he was competing in a group that included Rob Gronkowski, Tony Gonzalez, and Travis Kelce. That's a tough lineup to crack. Likewise Cam Newton, whose career was rare and his MVP season was one of the best individual seasons ever, but Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Patrick Mahomes are hard to argue with.

The other former Panthers player who probably deserved some mention is center Ryan Kalil. The ESPN roster only had one center, Jason Kelce.

There are few statistical measures for centers, and arguing about them is sometimes like stumping for indie bands that you're the only one cool enough to know about.

But he was a three-time All-Pro, and the timing of his career might have kept him from more consideration for the All-Decade teams. The 2007 second-rounder went to his first Pro Bowl in 2009, and was behind Maurkice Pouncey and Alex Mack (also a three-time All-Pro) for the 2010s All-Decade team.

Again, no one's complaining about Kelce, but not having a backup center on a 53-man roster seems risky. I'd have at least kept Kalil on my practice squad. He deserves as much, and the content he and Kelce could have created would be legendary.

At least as good as arguing about content created between minicamp and training camp.